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LINUX and WiFi

Posted on 01/21/2014 10:04:40 AM PST by varmintman

This is in the "If the subject should ever come up" category...

One of the biggest problems which comes up for people trying to get a look at one of the newer Linux distributions is what to do about WIFI. Particularly in the case of laptops and particularly in the case of laptops with Broadcom wifi radios, those radios act as if they'd gone dead. LINUX does not come with drivers for such (the drivers are Windows only and proprietary) ; information exists on websites for setting up wrappers to allow the Windows drivers to think they're running under Windows but 1. the instructions for loading and installing those drivers and wrapping code cannot be followed by normal people, 2. even were you to miraculously succeed at that there could easily be a performance penalty in the extra layer of software and, 3. since you're often talking about an older laptop in the first place, that radio is likely to be low-performance and constitute a bottleneck.

The good news is you can avoid the problem for ten or fifteen bucks. One of the little usb wifi devices which is a $10 - $15 item on ebay all day long, will simply make the problem vanish. None of the info on any of the linux websites will tell you that.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: computers; linux; wifi
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To: varmintman

Running Linux Mint 16 from a 16 GB USB drive.

First couple of boots I had a problem with the Broadcom chips on this Dell.

In order to get the wifi to work, I’d have to go to the driver manager and select the driver manually on each boot.

I had to edit a config file to load some modules automatically on boot, as they weren’t doing so by themselves.

Now, it works fine.

Surprised me, as I haven’t had wireless issues in years. If it didn’t work out of the box, the Driver Manager always fixed it on the first try.


21 posted on 01/21/2014 11:07:52 AM PST by FLAMING DEATH (I'm not racist - I hate Biden too!)
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To: varmintman

Actually, that was pretty “normal” for configuring a new Device in Linux. Considering what you COULD do in Linux, fairly easy to follow as well...

It sounds like you found a solution that works for you though. Kudos.


22 posted on 01/21/2014 11:10:02 AM PST by Dead Corpse (I will not comply.)
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To: Dead Corpse
Set up Midori as a kiosk. Tada! Easy low cost security monitor.

So, it's serving primarily as a kiosk and secondarily as a security cam? Is the kiosk interactive, or does it just display advertising or status or such?

23 posted on 01/21/2014 11:19:34 AM PST by cynwoody
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To: cynwoody

Full screen live video feed. Velcro’d the Pi to the back of a monitor. It’s a wider view than the camera on the door entry system.

A fact I tried to warn them about when they were deciding which system to go with.

No one listens to the IT guy... :-)


24 posted on 01/21/2014 11:22:23 AM PST by Dead Corpse (I will not comply.)
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To: varmintman

Well, the binaries can be found for WiFi hardware - it’s just a matter of learning how to load modules properly, and read logs and cpuinfo. Granted, it’s not plug and play!


25 posted on 01/21/2014 11:30:10 AM PST by andyk (I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.)
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To: martin_fierro
I've always had good luck with these funky Zyxel units

Those work well.

I have one of their WAP3205 units operating in "Client Mode" acting as a relay to provide access to my wireless router via its two Ethernet LAN ports. I have this "industrial computer" that I occasionally work on. It's a sample of a device we have deployed in our company to do certain dedicated tasks. It has no wireless capability, and I didn't want to add any, because I want my unit to be configured as closely as possible to the deployed units. But I also didn't want to run a Cat-5 cable downstairs. So, I just have a short patch cable between the computer's LAN jack and the Zyxel.

It occurs to me that, if I were having the Broadcom problem discussed on this thread, I could use the Zyxel for temporary internet access while getting it solved.

26 posted on 01/21/2014 11:45:56 AM PST by cynwoody
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To: varmintman

The article is quite correct, on PCs some brands of wifi hardware have no Linux drivers to link the wifi hardware to the Linux operating system. The wifi hardware in the PC and the Linux operating system on the PC simply cannot talk to each other. This has nothing to do with wifi routers


27 posted on 01/21/2014 11:52:13 AM PST by tophat9000 (Are we headed to a Cracker Slacker War?)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

because you’re installing a different brand of wifi hardware that does have a driver that support Linux


28 posted on 01/21/2014 11:54:18 AM PST by tophat9000 (Are we headed to a Cracker Slacker War?)
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To: Dead Corpse

I work IT for a casino and those would make great little kiosks.


29 posted on 01/21/2014 12:50:46 PM PST by miliantnutcase
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To: miliantnutcase

I have a couple more on order. Going to try and play with some of the I/O it has. Not sure for what... But I’ll think of something...

http://ardrone2.parrot.com/


30 posted on 01/21/2014 1:00:41 PM PST by Dead Corpse (I will not comply.)
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To: varmintman

I guess I’m not a normal person. :\


31 posted on 01/21/2014 1:13:55 PM PST by cizinec ("Brother, your best friend ain't your Momma, it's the Field Artillery.")
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To: cizinec

If you actually read the README’s... Then no. You aren’t.

Welcome to the Club. :-)


32 posted on 01/21/2014 1:25:34 PM PST by Dead Corpse (I will not comply.)
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To: Dalberg-Acton; GeronL
How does a router know the packets came from a Linux box?

All the packets have an encapsulated Tux?

OK, I'll leave quietly... ;-)

33 posted on 01/21/2014 2:28:43 PM PST by NoCmpromiz (John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
It isn’t fast enough to play video.

On the contrary! The Pi has more than enough power to stream video. Look at RaspBMC which is a variant of XBMC (XBox Media Center). The wife and I have two of these little joys in our home, and we love them. You can install NetFlix and use it to stream, if you so desire, and there's also Plex Media Server. Also considering spending the $4 to get the license keys to play specific formats of movies, and you'll have no problem watching any of your old digitized home movies.

The Pi is one of the coolest tech toys to come out in a long while.

Oh, and FWIW, Broadcom wireless issues are known across most variants of Linux. There are plenty of driver packages cobbled together by the GNU community. Most often you simply install WPASupplicant and go to town.

34 posted on 01/22/2014 7:01:35 AM PST by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: varmintman
I run SUSE 12.x, and have no trouble, not sure what chipset I have for the WiFi. Never have had an issue on any machine I have run it on.

To the lucky owners of a Pi. I am working on a M.A.M.E. game server that I intend to run on a Pi and a 1Tb drive.

35 posted on 01/23/2014 12:22:04 AM PST by DYngbld (I have read the back of the Book and we WIN!!!! (this post approved by the NSA))
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